Survive and Advance
Lessons on Living a Life without Compromise
In the face of difficulty, an inspirational leader will overcome.
Survive and Advance shares an intimate family portrait and professional journey, elevating readers and showing them how to imagine themselves into a new future with optimism, conviction, and confidence.
Grind and single parenthood on one side of his family, mental health and addiction issues on the other, Derek Lewis’s childhood role was to protect himself and his younger brothers from hardship and abuse. Growing up in Washington, DC, in the 1970s, it was enough just to survive.
But Lewis demanded a different future for himself and his family. Growing his 1988 just-out-of-college Pepsi sales management trainee route into multiple C-suite roles, he overcame early adversity to achieve the highest levels of corporate success. Not content with delivering record-breaking financial results, Lewis leveraged his reputation and relationships into building gender and racial equity and justice inside and outside the company.
In this personal growth memoir, Lewis shares his path to Black excellence from Chocolate City to HBCUs to the Divine Nine to Pepsi’s Team Elite to national catalyst for social change.
Reviews
“This powerful memoir chronicles [Derek] Lewis’s remarkable journey from a challenging childhood in 1970s Washington, DC, to becoming a transformative corporate leader and advocate for social change. With unflinching honesty and compelling narrative skills, Lewis weaves together accounts of personal struggles, professional triumphs, and breakdowns of hard-won convictions to create an inspiring roadmap for achieving success without compromising one’s values or identity.”
“Throughout, [Derek] Lewis links his personal journey to broader themes of collective social progress . . . Inspiring and insightful, Survive and Advance shows how individual success can create ripple effects of positive change across communities and institutions.”
“I’ve had the honor of working with my man Derek Lewis and witnessing firsthand his unwavering dedication to uplifting HBCUs, student-athletes, and our broader culture. This book is a testament to his passion, his wisdom, and his relentless pursuit of excellence. Derek’s impact on our community is immeasurable, and his ability to inspire a new generation to reach for greatness is truly remarkable.”
$34.95 CAD • $27.95 USD
Published January 28, 2025
hardcover, ebook